France in May 2026: the most important developments in security
In May 2026, the Strait of Hormuz dominated France's security news. France sent the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier group to the Red Sea for a possible mission near the strait. President Emmanuel Macron criticized the US operation there and said France would not take part, and later said France had never envisaged sending warships into the strait. Iran warned that the presence of French and British warships in and around the strait would be met with a firm response. By the end of the month Paris was planning an international mission to protect shipping in the strait.
A second theme was defence and deterrence in Europe. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said Norway will come under France's nuclear umbrella, and Norway joined Macron's missile defence initiative aimed at Russian threats. Sweden ordered four frigates from the French company Naval Group. Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko told Macron in a phone call that Belarus would use nuclear weapons only if attacked. France held its Orion 2026 military exercises, and Thales and ArianeGroup announced the first successful firing of a new French long-range rocket launcher. Airbus's chief executive put forward a multiple-aircraft approach to the stalled NGF fighter programme.
Public order and crime also featured. Around the Paris Saint-Germain title celebrations at the end of the month, dozens and then hundreds of people were arrested in Paris, and 95 people were detained after violence at the Bayern Munich match earlier in May. A gang war over drug trafficking continued in Lyon, and 16 people were arrested in an investigation into abuse at Paris schools. Anger followed the possible release of the logistics chief of the 13 November 2015 attacks and prison leave granted to attacks coordinator Mohamed Bakkali. An illegal rave drew 20,000 people to a military site.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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